Feed mechanism for sewing machines and the like



4 Sheets-Sheet l G. SAUER Filed April 21, 1957 FEED MECHANISM FOR SEWING MACHINES AND THE LIKE N NVNRN Feb. 6, 1940.

IN VEN TOR:

'24 TORN E YS N7 m S h m 5 6 G. SAUER Feb. 6, 1940.

FEED MECHANISM FOR SEWING MACHINES AND THE LIKE 2 t e e h s t e e h s 4 Filed April 21, 1937 ATTORNEYS. I

(ieorga Sane)",

Feb. 6, 1940.

Filed April 21, 1937 G. SAUER FEED MECHANISM FOR SEWING MACHINES AND THE LIKE WW A F167: JV

WITNESSES:

4 Sheets-Sheet 3 INVENTOR: fiaorge Sm/M31",

' TORNEYS.

Feb. 6, 1940. G. SAUER 2,189,657

FEED MECHANISM FOR SEWING MACHINES AND THE LIKE Filed April 21, 1937 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 W 4; George Sayer,

wi By WITNESSES: I INVENTOR:

Patented Feb. 6, 1940 FEED IMECHANISM FOR SEWING MACHINES AND THE LIKE George Sauer, Berwyn, Ill., assignor to Union Special Machine Company, Chicago, 11]., a corporation of Illinois Application April 21,

Claims.

My invention relates to feed mechanism for sewing machines and the like. The types of underfeeds commonly used on ordinary sewing machines (e. g., a four-motion feed-dog beneath i the fabric, coacting with a spring-pressed presserfoot above) answer very well in many cases; but for certain kinds of sewing, a more positive feeding of the upper fabric layer is desirable,as when the fabric layers being sewed together tend to slip i over one another-and especially if the fabric is very thick or heavy. Feed mechanism for such purposes is shown and described in my pending application Serial No. 55,502, filed December 21, 1935, in which a needle vibrating laterally in the l line of feed coacts with any suitable underfeed.

My present invention relates to feed mechanism by which fabric layers can be fed even more positively, and by which various other advantages can be obtained. For the purposes of my invention, I provide novel feed mechanism of laterally vibrating type above the work, preferably associated with a laterally vibrating needle or needles, and with suitable feed means beneath the work, such as a four-motion feed-dog. With the upper 5 vibrating feed device and the needle moving together in the same direction as the underfeed, a very powerful feeding action for heavy or slippery fabrics is obtained. Other features and advantages of the invention will appear from the following description of a species or form of embodiment, and from the drawing.

In the drawings, Fig. I is a side view of a lockstitch type of sewing machine embodying my invention, the main frame of the machine being in i vertical mid-section.

Fig. II is a view from the left of Fig. I, omitting the parts below the work-support, and with parts of the needle head broken out.

Fig. III is a side view showing the needle head p in vertical longitudinal mid-section, from the left of Fig. 11.

Fig. IV is a view from the left of Fig. I, with most of the parts above the work-support broken away and omitted.

; Fig. V is a fragmentary plan and horizontal sectional view of the needle head and parts therein.

Fig. VI is a view similar to Fig. II showing different positions of certain parts, with portions of the needle head and other parts partially broken away. I

Fig. VII is a view similar to Figs. II and VI showing other positions of certain parts, also with some parts partially broken away.

i Fig. V111 is a fragmentary plan view of the 1937, Serial No. 138,08!

operating connection between an oscillatory needle-bar and feed-bar guide and its actuating crank.

Fig. IX is a perspective view of a link forming part of the top-feed mechanism.

Fig. X is a bottom plan view of the work support and the associated parts and mechanisms.

Fig. XI shows a section taken as indicated by the line and arrows XIXI in Fig. X, with certain parts partly broken away.

As shown in Figs. I, II, and III, the hollow frame of the sewing machine here illustrated carries a work support In and includes a hollow arm I I projecting from an upright standard l2 and carrying a needle head l3. With the head l3 are associated a vertically reciprocating needle bar l5 carrying the needle l6, and a spring actuated presser bar I I carrying a presser foot I8. The presser bar I1 is mounted in the head I3 so as to be vertically movable, and is yieldingly urged downward by a helical compression spring l9, as usual. Beneath the work support III are shown in Figs. I and IV a four-motion feed dog 20, having a suitably serrated or roughened feeding surface that coacts with the presser foot l8 through an opening in the work support l0, and stitch forming mechanism 2| for coacting with the needle l6. As shown, the stitch forming mechanism 21 includes a rotary hook or loop taker 22 revolving in a horizontal plane beneath the work support l0, about a vertical axis. forming mechanism 2| may be of any suitable construction, but is here shown as like that illustrated and described in the application of Norman V. Christensen and Oscar Quist, Serial No. 53,552, filed December 9, 1935, and assigned to the assignee of this application.

It will be understood that the machine may be provided with any usual accessories (not shown), such as a thread tension, take-up, presser foot lifting means, tension relieving device, and thread guides, and that these may be of any suitable or preferred construction, and may be operated by any suitable means. These and other accessories are more fully illustrated and described in the aforementioned application of Norman V. Christensen and Oscar Quist.

As shown in Figs. I, II, III, V, VI, and VII, the needle bar l5 reciprocates in a guide bracket 30 which is pivoted on a stud 3| secured in the lower end of the head l3, and includes upper and lower guide bearings 32 and 33 for said needle bar. Openings in the upper and lower ends of the head This stitch- I3 afford clearance for the needle bar [5 to swing or oscillate relative to the head. The needle bar l may be actuated for its up and down movement from a horiaontal drive shaft 35 (mounted in bearings 35, 35 in the arm II) by any suitable means, such as a crank 31 on the end of the shaft with a pitman connection 33 from its crank pin 35 to a pivot pin 45 suitably mounted on the needle bar. As shown, see also Fig. VIII, the guide bracket 35 is oscillated about its pivot 3| from a horizontal shaft 4| mounted above the shaft 35 in bearings 42, 42 in the arm II, by means comprising a rocker arm or crank 44 fixed to the end of the shaft 4| and provided with a pivot pin 45 whose flattened end 45 is slidingly engaged in a vertical slot or groove in the upper portion 32 of the bracket 35. The shaft 4| may preferably be driven from the shaft 35 by means adapted to impart an adjustably variable oscillation to said shaft 4|. The mechanism shown in Fig. I for actuating shaft 4| from shaft 35 includes an eccentric 41 on said shaft 35 with an eccentric rod connection 45 to a crank 49 fast on the adja cent end of shaft 4|. The eccentric 41 is directly adjacent a corresponding bearing 35 at the driven ends of the shafts 4| and 35, which actuate guide 55, needle bar I5, and other parts from their remote or distal ends in the head l3. For adjusting the amplitude of oscillation imparted to shaft 4|,and through it to the needle bar guide 55, provision may' be made for adjusting eccentric 41 radially, or diametrally of shaft 55, by any suitable means, not shown, such as that set forth in my application Serial No. 55,502, filed December 21,1935.

The mechanism thus far described is substantially like that set forth in my above-mentioned application Serial No. 55,502.

For the purposes of my present invention, there is shown an upper feeding foot 55 on the lower end of a bar 5| that partakes of the oscillatory work feeding movements of the needle i5, and acts conjointly with the lower four-motion feed dog 25, or other suitable lower feed. As shown in Figs. II and III, the bar 5| is mounted or joumaled for up and down movement in a bore in the guide bracket 35 for the needle bar l5. The feeding foot 55 is engaged with the work while moving in the direction of feed, and is raised out of contact with the work for its return movement. Correlatively, the presser foot l5 should be raised while the foot 55 is feeding the work. and lowered to clamp the work when the foot 55 is raised.

As shown in Figs. II and III, the feeding foot 55 moves to and fro in a longitudinal slot in the presser foot I8, directly opposite the feed dog 25, so that the work is as it were almost clamped between the parts 25 and 55 during their feeding movement. A rocking (bell-crank) lever 52 is pivotally connected or fulcrumed by a pin 53 to a bracket 54 which is adjustably fixed on the presser bar IT, by set-screws 55, and is also pivotally connected or fulcrumed by pins 55 and a (vertical) link 51 to the upper end of feeding foot bar 5|. This link 5'! is clearly shown in Fig. IX. In the present instance, the angle of the rocker 52 is pivoted at 53 to the presser bar bracket 54, and the end of its (horizontal) arm 55 is pivoted to feed foot bar 5| through link 51. The other (downward extending) arm 59 of the rocker 52 is suitably actuated to oscillate the rocker, and thereby depress and lift presser foot l5 and feed foot 55 in alternation,as by an eccentric-crank 55 on the (lower) revolving shaft 35, with an eccentric strap and rod connection 5| pivoted by a pin 52 to the lower end of this rocker arm. in general, the lower rotating shaft 35 is preferable to the upper oscillating shaft 4| as a source of motion for actuating the rocker 52. As here shown, the

bracket 54 is also used for raising the presser foot l5 and the feed foot 55 from the work when desired, by means of a cam-lever 53 engaging under a laterally projecting arm 34 on the bracket.

As the rocker 52 lifts the presser foot II, as shown in Fig. II, it pivots or fulcrums on the bar 5| while this bar is sustained by feeding I foot 55, and vice-versa. When the presser foot I5 is lifted off the work by rocker 52 against spring I5, the pressure of the spring is of course applied through rocker 52 to hold feed foot 55 pressed against the work. Following the cycle of operation, it will be seen that as the shaft 35 revolves clockwise one-quarter revolution, the crank 31 will raise needle l3 from its lowest position as shown in Fig. II to its mid-position as shown in Fig. VI, where it has just risen above the work. During this movement, the presser foot I 5 is at first up, the feed foot 55 is down, so that the rocker 52 fulcrums on link 51, and the feed foot 55 and the needle II are being swung by the action of crank arm 44 on rock-shaft 4| (and are feeding the work) to the right, to their mid-position shown in Fig. VI. By the end of this quarter-revolution of shaft 35, the rocker arm 59 has been moved by eccentric 55 from its extreme left-hand position shown in Fig. 11 to its mid-position as shown in Fig. VI, and the presser foot II has been lowered to rest on the work, as well as the feed foot 55. In the second quarter-revolution of shaft 35, the crank 31 raises the needle l5 from its midposition shown in Fig. VI to its highest position as shown in Fig. VII, and the eccentric 55 swings rocker arm 55 to its extreme right-hand position as shown in Fig. VII, the rocker 52 fulcruming on bracket 54 and raising feed foot 55 off the work as shown. During this quarter-revolution of shaft 35, the needle i3 and the feed foot 55 are swung back to the left by the action of crank arm 44 on shaft 4|, to the same positions as in Fig. II, asshown in Fig. VII. In the third quarter-revolution of shaft 35, the needle l5 and the feed foot 55 are swung further to the left by shaft 4|, the feed foot 55 ,is lowered upon the work, and the needle I5 is lowered to its midposition just above the work. In the fourth quarter-revolution of shaft 35, the crank 31 depresses needle |6 (through the work) to its lowest position shown in Fig. II, the fulcrum of rocker 52 shifts from bracket 54 back to link 51 and feed foot 55, so that the rocker 52 raises the presser foot it off the work as shown in Fig. II, and shaft 4| swings needle I 5 and feed foot 55 to the right back to their positions shown in Fig. II. Thus the cycle is completed.

To obtain the sequence of operations above described, the eccentric 55 is set about 90 ahead of crank 31, and the eccentric 41 that operates shaft 4| from shaft 35 is likewise set about 90 ahead of crank 31. The amplitude of the workfeeding movement of needle l5 and feed foot 55 can be adjusted by adjusting the throw of eccentric 41 as already mentioned; and that of feed-dog 25 can likewise be adjusted as hereinafter explained. By these adjustments, the upper feed by needle l5 and foot 55 may be made to correspond accurately with the lower feed by dog 25, or may be made greater or less in any desired proportion.

The feed-dog 20 17nd its actuation as now to be described are the same as set forth in my aforesaid application Serial No. 5. 02.

As shown in Fig. I, a horizontal shaft 85 mounted in bearings 66, 66, beneath the work support Ill is driven from the shaft 85, as by means of helical gears 61, 61 of equal diameters on the shafts 35 and 65, and an interposed coacting idle gear 68 on a short intermediate shaft 69. From the lower horizontal shaft 85, the stitch mechanism 2| and the feed-dog 20 may be driven by any suitable means. As best shown in Fig. IV, the feed-dog 20 is mounted for up and down adjustment (as by a bolt and slot connection H) on a four-motion feed-bar 12. The feed member comprising feed-dog 20 and feed-bar 12 receives up and down motion from the horizontal shaft 65 by means of an eccentric 15 fast on shaft 65 and acting through an eccentric strap and rod 16 pivoted at II to v a forward-extending curved arm 18 of feed-bar 12.

Bracket 80 and rotary hook stitch mechanism 2| are shown as like corresponding parts in the aforementioned Christensen and Quist application, and as similarly engaged with and adjustable along a tongued depending flange 8| on the work-support ID, to which flange they are secured by bolt and slot connections 82, 82. The stitch mechanism 2| is shown as revolving in a horizontal plane beneath the work support l0 about a vertical axis, and as driven from shaft 65 through bevel gears 83, 83, best shown in Fig. X.

The feed member comprising dog 20 and feedbar 12 may receive horizontal, to and fro, workfeeding motion from an eccentric on shaft 65, Figs. X and XI. As shown in Fig. IV, a forward-extending arm 86 of feed-bar I2 is pivotally connected at 81 to the upper end of a bifurcated arm 88 fast to one end of a horizontal shaft 90 that is journaled in bearing lugs 9| depending from the.work-support l0. As here shown, shaft 90 is under the front edge of work support l0. Shaft 90 may be rocked or oscillated from eccentric 85 through actuating connections including an eccentric strap and rod 92 pivoted at 83 to the joint of a toggle device 94, 95. The lazybar link 94 of this toggle device is pivoted at 96 to a bracket 91 depending from the work-support l0, while the more active toggle link is pivotally connected to a rocker arm 98 fast to shaft 90. The amplitude of movement thus imparted to shaft 90 and feed-dog 20 may be adjusted and varied by any suitable means, as by a slot and screw-clamp connection between rocker 98 and the pivot 99 which connects link 95 to said rocker. By this adjustment and the adjustment of eccentric 41 as already mentioned in connection with Figs. I-III, the feeding action of dog 20 can be made to correspond accurately with that due to the vibratory or oscillatory movement of needle 16, or may be made greater or less in any desired proportion. As shown in Fig. X, set collars I00, 100 secured on shaft 90 control its longitudinal position in its bearings 9|.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

1. In a sewing machine, the combination with a frame carrying a work support and including an arm overhanging said work support, a presserfoot bar mounted on said arm, a reciprocating needle bar, and an upper feeding foot bar, a guide for the movement of said feeding foot bar rockably fulcrumed on said arm, a drive shaft mounted in bearings on said arm with actuating connections for reciprocating said needle bar, and a rocking lever fulcrumed on said arm with pivotal connections above said drive shaft to said presser foot and feeding foot bars, of means for actuating said lever from said drive shaft connected to the lever below its said pivotal connections, and means for oscillating said guide and said feeding foot bar operatively connected to the guide at a point further from the aforesaid guide fulcrum than said guide fulcrum is from the work, so that the to and fro motion of said guide at its connection to said oscillating means exceeds thet resulting feed of the work by the feeding 2. In a sewing machine, the combination with a frame carrying a work support and including an arm overhanging said work support, a presserfoot bar mounted on said arm, a reciprocating needle bar, and an upper feeding foot bar, and a guide for the movement of said feeding foot bar rockably fulcrumed on said arm, of upper and lower shafts above the guide fulcrum mount- I ed in bearings on said arm, with actuating connections from one of said shafts to said guide, above said fulcrum, for rocking the guide, and from the other of said shafts to said needle bar for reciprocating it, a rocking lever fulcrumed on said arm with pivotal connections to said presser foot and feeding foot bars, and with an arm extending downward, and eccentric crank means on one of said shafts operatively connected to said downward-extending lever arm, to rock,

said lever.

3. In a needle-feed sewing machine, the combination of a presser-foot bar, a reciprocating needle bar and an upper feeding foot bar, a rockably fulcrumed guide for the movement of said needle and feeding foot bars, a drive shaft with actuating connections for reciprocating said needie bar, a rocking lever with pivotal connections above said drive shaft to said presser foot and feeding foot bars, means for actuating said lever from said drive shaft connected to the lever below its said pivotal connections, and means for oscillating said guide and said needle and feeding foot bars operatively connected to the guidev at a point further from the work than the guide fulcrum, so that the guide and said needle and feeding foot bars function as a lever of the first class with respect to the work.

4. In a needle-feed sewing machine, the combination of a presser-foot bar, a reciprocating needle bar and an upper feeding foot bar, a rockably fulcrumed guide for the movement of said needle and feeding foot bars, upper and lower shafts above the guide fulcrinn, with actuating connections from one of said shafts to said guide, above said fulcrum, for rocking the guide, and from the other of said shafts to said needle bar for reciprocating it, a rocking lever with pivotal connections to said presser foot and feeding foot bars, and with an arm extending downward from one of its said connections, and eccentric crank means on one of said shafts operatively connected to said downward-extending lever arm, to rock said lever.

5. In a needle-feed sewing machine, the come bination with a frame carrying a work support and. including an arm overhanging said work support, a presser-foot bar mounted on said arm, a reciprocating needle bar, and an upper feeding foot bar, and a guide for the movement of said needle and feeding foot bars rockably fulcrumed on said arm, of upper and lower shafts above the guide fulcrum mounted in bearings on, said arm, with actuating connections from the lower shaft to said needle bar for reciprocating it, and from the upper shaft to said guide, above the actuating connection to the needle bar, for rocking the guide. a rocking lever fulcrumed on said arm with pivotal connections above said drive shaft to said presser foot and reedinz toot bars. and means for actuating said lever from said lower shaft connected to the lever below its said pivotal connections.

GEORGE BAUER. 

